Legacy
by Vampiric Charms
Summary: Lin has a bad day at work. Tenzin helps her remember not everyone sees her as her mother's daughter. Pre-series Lin/Tenzin, Complete


**Set before the series, so young Lin/Tenzin. Maybe mid-twenties? No spoilers. Also posted on my AO3 account. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Legacy<strong>

Tenzin barely had time to look up from the evening paper, which he had scattered over the kitchen table to better see every article in case something important was happening that he would need to know the next day for work, when the bolt in the front door snapped to let the door itself fly open. It hit the wall with a loud bang. Even though he had seen it happen, Tenzin jumped in his seat at the sound, his quiet evening thoroughly disrupted.

Lin kicked the door viciously again as it rebounded, stopping it the next time with the flat of her hand before slamming it closed without pause. He was about to ask what the poor door had done wrong, but one look at her stormy face told him to keep his jokes to himself.

"I hate my job," she seethed, already peeling her armor off with angry twitches of her fingers. The arm pieces fell to the floor with metallic clangs, but she caught the chestplate and hurled it at the far wall with her pent fury. It left a long, shallow dent in the dried plaster before clattering downward. "I hate it! I hate all of them!"

Tenzin stood from the table, taking a few steps toward her with still enough space so she wouldn't feel crowded until she was ready for him to touch her. "What happened?"

Lin dug the heel of her hand into one eye, turning her face away. "It's my mother. It's _always_ my mother." Silence fell for a moment as she sniffed and rubbed her nose indelicately on her wrist. "Even when she's not there, she's everywhere. Everyone tries to turn me into her, Tenzin! She's been gone for two days, on that stupid trip to her stupid academy, and already every cop in that station thinks I'm either just as great as she is because I'm Toph's daughter…or I'm only going to succeed because I'm _Toph's daughter_."

She moved toward him slightly, and Tenzin took that as his cue to open his arms so she could lean against his chest. "Everyone is expecting me to either fail or be better than Ma. No one sees me for _me_ in that place. I'm always in her shadow. I'm always…"

"Shh," he soothed, interrupting her gently when she finally began to cry. The tears were angry and bitter, and she pressed her face into his robes, knowing he understood her daily struggle and every frustration she was feeling. "I see you, Lin. I've always seen you."

She snorted softly, but he could still see her smile when he glanced down at her even if most of her face was hidden. He rubbed her back.

"I hardly think that counts," she pointed out, a hint of teasing to her muffled words. "It's not you I need to prove myself to."

"I suppose not. But it should still count."

"Very well, it counts. One person sees me as…not a Beifong. _Great_ tally so far." She sighed heavily, moving her arms to wrap up around his back so she could lean more against him. He accepted her weight without protest, simply holding her tighter and letting the side of his head come to rest on top of hers. "Maybe I should just quit. Being a police officer, I mean. What's the point?"

"What would you do instead?" Tenzin asked. It was an insubstantial threat, one she had voiced many times without putting to action. Still, though, she sometimes enjoyed pretending. Now was one of those times, with the fury from before finally starting to subside into a muted yet ever present sadness always nearby when this topic came to the surface.

"I could travel the world. There's still a lot of the Earth Kingdom I haven't seen, and the Fire Nation." She paused for a beat, lost in the creation of her new self. "I could be a guru. Not for Earthbending, though. Too much of my mother there. No, for yoga instead. You could come with me, teaching meditation. We'd travel together forever, seeing everything there is to see."

Tenzin grinned, his fingers tracing patterns along her spine. He could almost glimpse this life she was envisioning for them, far from their parents' reaching legacies and the responsibilities left behind. If only it were possible. "I like the sound of this idea."

"Grow old together," she added quietly, "in any place we chose."

"Where would you choose?" he whispered.

"Somewhere far away, surrounded by trees and mountains and open sky. Somewhere near a big lake or river, with greenery and earth everywhere you look. Somewhere humans haven't touched yet." She took a deep breath and looked up at him, letting go of her fantasy. The next answer was a real one. "Somewhere with you. Wherever that is."

"That much, Lin, I can promise you."


End file.
